In the field of robotic control, current control methods are problem-specific. Thus, a particular task requires specialized robotic control methods, and there are no general solutions that may be applied to many different problem situations and robot configurations. Specialized control methods are often brittle and do not easily adapt to unforeseen circumstances.
Electroencephalograms (EEGs) are often used in brain-based interfaces to decode neural activity within the brain. EEGs are non-invasive and produce rapid responses to stimuli. EEG brain-based control techniques can be divided into two classes: endogenous and exogenous. For endogenous techniques, a subject employs imagination to evoke a particular brain wave pattern, which is measured by the EEG. However, endogenous methods require a long training period for the user to learn to produce distinguishable mental responses.
Exogenous techniques use external stimuli to evoke a desired EEG response. The exogenous techniques require far less user training than endogenous techniques. One particular neural response, the P300 signal, is reliably and robustly detected by the EEG. The P300 signal is a manifestation of a mental response to unpredictable stimuli in an oddball paradigm, such as an expected event occurring at an unexpected time.